Maria Varela’s jaw dropped when she saw the social media post: “We will be tabling on campus asking fellow students to report their criminal classmates to ICE for deportation.”
Varela is an undergraduate at the University of Arizona. She isn’t undocumented but she knows many people who are, and many who are already living in fear. She said students at the university — regardless of legal status — are there to get an education and should not be unfairly targeted.
“It’s devastating. I feel it’s just like how do you not have empathy for others?” she questioned Thursday night, gathering with communities in Tucson organizing support for their neighbors without citizenship status.
“How can someone do that to another student?” she said.
College Republicans United at ASU — not affiliated with the College Republicans at ASU — announced the event in a Wednesday post on X , inviting the public to join their call for deportations two days later at Arizona State University.
The group urged students who “can’t wait until Friday and need to make a report RIGHT NOW” to file their suspicion via an ICE tip form. The form on the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s website offers a menu of “suspected violations.” Members of the public can report people for alleged crimes that include: “student violations” tied to visas and “illegal immigration.”
Varela wants students, especially immigrants, to feel protected by the university administration.
“I know U of A has a big Hispanic community, so I really just hope they support that and support all the students, not only Hispanic, but any student who’s an immigrant here in the U.S.,” she said.
Approximately 20% of UA students enrolled in Fall 2024 on the main campus, or 11,168 students, identified as Hispanic or LatinX, according to school enrollment data . The number of international students enrolled on the main campus for that same period totaled 3,559.
While many students without citizenship come from a variety of ethnic and racial backgrounds, Latin Americans make up the bulk of undocumented people residing in the United States, according to an April 2024 report by the Office of Homeland Security Statistics. Mexican nationals, the biggest group in 2022, made up 44% of the immigrant population without legal status, followed by Guatemalans, Salvadorans and Hondurans.
ASU spokesperson Jerry Gonzalez provided a statement criticizing the College Republicans United’s message but did not respond to Arizona Luminaria’s questions as to whether there would be any disciplinary actions in response to the organization’s call to deport classmates.
“Encouraging ASU students to make indiscriminate complaints to law enforcement about fellow students is not in keeping with the principles which underlie our academic community . We are here to teach and learn — not to engage in self-aggrandizing conduct meant solely to generate as much media attention and controversy as possible.
But we must also recognize that we live in a country that protects individual free speech, even speech that is hurtful or dumb. The Dean of Students and ASU Police are available to assist any student who is threatened or harassed.”
Gonzalez sent out an updated statement later Friday morning deleting the word “dumb.”
The Arizona Board of Regents Student of Conduct prohibits: “Engaging in discriminatory activities, including harassment and retaliation, as prohibited by applicable law or university policy.”
Local officials and organizations widely condemn post
Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes called the actions “abhorrent behavior by this extreme right group at ASU.”
“Every student should be able to feel safe on campus,” she added in a social media post . “It’s appalling to see this division and hatred in our community. Dreamers in Arizona, know that I will never stop fighting to protect you.”
Dreamers, or Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals initiative (DACA) recipients, are part of a 2012 federal program that provided limited protections for undocumented immigrants who moved to the U.S. as a child. They do not have citizenship status but are allowed to obtain work permits and driver’s licenses, access health care and educational scholarships.
College Republicans United issued a statement on social media Thursday night doubling down on their plan. “Reporting crimes is not only a civic duty but also a fundamental for maintaining public safety and the rule of law.”
Holly Thomas, a graduate student at the UA and member of the University Campus Workers Union Arizona , said the mood is tense among students.
“It’s really bad. People are very scared. Graduate students in particular with student visas are scared,” she said.
She said social media threats like this are part of an escalation in xenophobic and racist rhetoric.
“People are emboldened to commit acts of hate and our campus communities are growing increasingly less safe for people who are working towards a more just future,” she said.
On Thursday, President Donald Trump signed an executive order described as “unprecedented steps to combat anti-semitism,” while his administration released a fact sheet on the order, saying the federal government would “revoke student visas” of those who participated in pro-Palestinian protests that spread across college campuses last year.
Students at Arizona universities are concerned that campus leaders have not done enough to support the safety of students who are immigrants.
“We still have yet to receive any official guidance from them on how to approach this. Zero support. Even in the form of an email, you know, offering any sort of resources to the community,” Thomas said.
The College Republicans at ASU (not affiliated with the organization calling for students’ deportations) condemned the message in a social media post . They said the College Republicans United group’s recent statements “do not reflect our own beliefs and the core values of our club” and that “encouraging other ASU students to report classmates to ICE for deportation undermines the Sun Devil community.”
In 2023, the College Republicans United group drew ire, including from local GOP leaders, after the organization announced Nick Fuentes, a white supremacist commentator, as the lead speaker for their National Convention in Arizona. The group spans three states — Iowa, Oklahoma and Arizona, citing chapters at ASU and UA.
UA spokesperson Mitch Zak responded to Arizona Luminaria’s questions about what actions university officials are taking to ensure the safety of students amid the climate of xenophobic rhetoric and threats to report immigrant students for deportation.
“The University of Arizona offers support to all of our Wildcat students and resources are widely available for our community to utilize as needed. Should anyone in our community have questions or need assistance, we encourage them to take advantage of a range of resources through the university’s resource centers, Counseling and Psych Services (CAPS), and the Dean of Students Office.”
Congressman Raúl Grijalva, a Democrat who represents Arizona’s District 7, responded to the College Republicans United’s post over social media .
“I am aware of the conservative student group at ASU planning an event encouraging students to report their peers for immigration enforcement action. My office has spoken with university officials and is monitoring the situation to ensure students feel safe and are free from harassment.”
Migrant advocacy and civil rights organizations admonished the group.
“The statements and planned actions taken by the College Republicans United at Arizona State are intended to induce fear on campus and promote more anxiety and division within our community,” said leaders with Aliento, a nonprofit led by young people who advocate for the rights of Dreamers, immigrant families with mixed status, and people in the state without legal status, in an Instagram post .
They urged ASU to take action, including ensuring that ICE officials would not be allowed on campus without a warrant.
The ASU chapter of Aliento announced a peace rally on campus Friday to push back in a nonviolent way and show immigrant students they are not alone.
‘It is unimaginable’
On Thursday, José Patiño’s phone rang incessantly. Calls flooded in from students: They wanted to join the demonstration against the ASU Republican student group urging students to report classmates for deportation. But they were scared.
“Yesterday, many students told us ‘I want to go,’ but they asked if it was safe for them or their friends,” Patiño said. He’s vice president of Education and External Affairs at Aliento.
On Friday, at the rally on ASU’s Tempe campus, Perla Sánchez overcame her fears.
She held a banner reading: “We stand together.”
She walked alongside students who wanted to make their voices heard.
“Personally, I feel afraid for my classmates. I also feel afraid for myself, because I am impacted by this,” she said. “I feel afraid for my family and friends.”
Sánchez emigrated to Arizona from Guanajuato, México when she was not yet 2 years old.
“I’ve lived in Arizona basically my entire life. Arizona is the only place I know,” said the 20-year-old student.
Sánchez studies psychology at ASU thanks to a scholarship and supported by Proposition 308, which allows students without legal status who attended Arizona K-12 schools to pay in-state college tuition.
“It makes me very sad to know that there are people so hateful, with such bad intentions, who shock you that they want to call ICE to report students in classes,” she said in a firm voice. “It is unimaginable.”
More than a thousand rally for peace
Patiño said they expected about 750 people to join the rally, but the response was overwhelming . More than a thousand students and supporters showed up. They marched around the table with a handful of College Republicans United.
“It made me feel emotional and proud that the community responded,” he said.
The College Republicans United’s table saw about two to six students throughout the day. They held signs with information on how to report classmates to the ICE tip line.
Protesters held signs reading: “Education not deportation” and “Dreamers deserve degrees.”
Organizers planned the peace rally with students’ safety in mind.
“We consulted with four lawyers who were here making sure everything was legal, we talked to the police and they assured us that they were going to take care of our group,” Patiño said.
The majority of protesters were students. But there were also community members, teachers and people of faith. All there “to see that the students were protected and nothing happened to them,” he said.
Students felt supported in the face of aggression, organizers said, but it’s time for university administrators to step up.
“What follows is to hold a meeting with ASU leaders to ensure how the university can protect the rights of students,” Patiño said. “We have to make sure that these incidents do not continue to happen, and if they do continue to happen, we have to make sure the community comes out to support.”
Nearly 5,000 people have signed a letter by Aliento at ASU, the student chapter of the nonprofit, calling for “Ensuring the Safety and Belonging of All Students Regardless of Immigration Status,” according to a statement on the organization’s Instagram account.
Varela, the UA student, shares that sentiment. She wants people to understand that most documented and undocumented students share a purpose: pursuing higher education.
“We’re all here for the same reason: to live a better life, go to school, educate ourselves, and have a bright future,” she said.
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